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Tadious Manyepo

Zimpapers Sports Hub

PREMIERSHIP football could be back in Mabvuku next year with Northern Region Soccer League title favourites Scottland set to construct a 15 000-seater stadium in the sprawling eastern Harare suburb.

The club, which will clip their top-flight status with a win against Black Mambas on the final day of the title race tomorrow, have secured a 30-year lease for Number One Grounds adjacent to Mabvuku High School.

And they have plans afoot to put up a modern stadium that will house at least 15 000 spectators plus other ancillary facilities including a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, a rugby field and a cricket field within the once sprouting community centre.

Scottland chairman Tonderai Sakupwanya yesterday said the mega-dollar project is meant to help not only the flamboyant NRSL leaders but the entire sports fraternity in the country.

“I can confirm that we now have a 30-year lease from the City of Harare to have Mabvuku Number One Ground.

“We are planning to build a 15000-seater stadium there next year,” said Sakupwanya.

“The stadium is not going to be confined to Scottland only but it will be open to everyone.

“Schools will also be allowed to use the facility and we will put up an open pool where schools will compete.

“It will be an all-encompassing facility with a high-performance centre available as well because we want to develop sport in all ways that we can as Scottland FC. So, we are working round the clock to see to it that we can start the work that needs to be done.

“At the moment, we are working on preliminary designs for the football stadium and we will also retain basketball courts, a rugby field, tennis and cricket facilities in the stadium.”

Despite being a fertile grooming ground for sporting talent, Mabvuku has failed to house a standard Premiership venue since the condemnation of Lafarge (formerly Portland Stadium) over a decade ago.

The now dilapidated Lafarge Stadium used to be a vibrant venue when the only team from Mabvuku to play in the top-flight Circle United were a force in the domestic game back in 2002.

But once Circle United, which groomed such legendary players like James Matola, Shadreck Malunga, Thanks Tengwe, the late Usman Misi and Sageby Sandaka collapsed, the vibe went away although other teams like Gunners and Flame Lily did host their matches there.

But the coming on of Mabvuku Number One Stadium will certainly bring back that excitement to this football crazy community.

which gave the country an array of stars who include Cephas Chimedza, Joe “Kode” Mugabe (late), the Mugeyi brothers William and Wilfred, Elton Chimedza, Albert “Dhalala” Mabika, Rabson Masauso and Brenna Msiska among others.

“As Scottland FC we are very delighted to undertake such a task and bring Premiership football back to Mabvuku.

“We are also going to set up an academy that will cater for all age-groups and be the centre of excellence in all development facets.”

While Sakupwanya, who is brother to Scottland patron Pedzai “Scott” Sakupwanya acknowledges that they still have to do more to get promotion in the last 90 minutes, he believes the Mabvuku club can cross the line and attributes their remarkable journey to a number of factors.

“You know at one point we were sixth on the log but we kept on believing and pushing.

“Our patron (Pedzai Sakupwanya) predicted that at the end of the race we will be at the top.

“But we needed to be proactive in the way we were doing our business. We tapped on the expertise of our Spanish coaches who came to twerk things around helping our very own sound technical team,” added Tonderai Sakupwanya.

“Our patron also has a lot of business partners who came to motivate our players and here we are.

“He wants to lift soccer to another realm as a business and at the same time uplift the youth of Mabvuku and the country at large to stay away from drugs and get gainful employment in sports.”